Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Emilie de Ravin Reveals Her 'Instant Chemistry' With Robert Pattinson 'Remember Me' actress — one of our 10 to Watch in 2010 — also discusses the final season of 'Lost.'

2010 is going to be a straight-up bonkers year for Emilie de Ravin. The stunning 28-year-old Australian returns in February to "Lost" for the show's final season, tying together five years of twists, turns and WTF moments. Next month, she'll appear in "Remember Me" as the love interest of a guy named Robert Pattinson, who we guess is kind of a big deal. And by big deal, we mean the Bella Swan-wooing, tween-mind-occupying Hollywood heartthrob of the moment. So, Miss de Ravin, no pressure, OK?

But as the actress made clear in an interview with MTV News, she's taking it all in stride. For playing it so cool, and for the stellar year she's about to have, we're honoring de Ravin as one of our 10 to Watch in 2010 — the folks in the movie industry we expect big things from in the next 12 months. In a wide-ranging conversation, de Ravin gave us tantalizing hints about "Lost," described dealing with the insane attention surrounding "Remember Me" and said she instantly connected with Pattinson when the pair first met.

MTV: You're returning to a TV show everyone is obsessed with, you're co-starring opposite one of the biggest actors on the planet — does 2010 feel like it's going to be a really big year for you? Emilie de Ravin: Yeah, I'm insanely excited. The show's been fantastic, and I had season five off, so I had the opportunity to do some other projects, including "Remember Me." Being surrounded by all these talented groups of people inspires you so much. And with the show ending, it's bittersweet — sad, but fantastic they're ending on a high note. You don't want to be the last ones left at the party! MTV: So how did "Remember Me" come your way? Did you have to read with Rob? De Ravin: They'd been looking to cast my role for a while, looking at a lot of different girls. I read the script three weeks before they started shooting. I flew to New York to test with Rob and we immediately got along and had instant great chemistry, which is not an easy thing to come by. Obviously you're acting, but you want to have that connection with somebody. We had it. And I was thrown into a wardrobe fitting that same day. MTV: Before you were cast, did you have a sense of all the craziness that surrounds Rob everywhere he goes? De Ravin: I suppose I did, but it was not something I thought about until I got to set that first day and was like, "Ooooh, OK." Probably 90 percent of the film we shot on location, mainly in Manhattan, and having the paparazzi and fans coming to watch, it adds, um, another element. You have to focus much more. MTV: Was it just nuts? De Ravin: There were a lot of crazy moments where you're filming on location and you're waiting for people to get out of the shot. People don't want to move. Rob and I would laugh about that. There was a scene where we're on a date at a carnival, and it was very exposed to media, paparazzi and fans. We were rehearsing, and you become so self-conscious of people watching you, and we both stopped and looked at each other and were like, "Wait, what are we doing?" You're taken out of your work mentality with hundreds of people watching you when you're just trying to figure out your scene. MTV: What was your relationship with Rob like off-camera? De Ravin: It was so great being able to work with someone you immediately get along with and is incredibly talented and is driven to make the film as good as we can. Having someone you can go and talk with about a scene, and it's all very casual and easy, that made filming such a delight — having a friendship level and a commitment to the script. The way Rob and I developed our relationship onscreen was very natural, and just seeing what happened with scenes, what happens in the moment. MTV: But you're telling me you guys didn't watch "Twilight" together in your trailer every day? De Ravin: No! I hadn't seen the films prior to shooting. They're great. They're such a different genre to this film. "Twilight" and "Remember Me" couldn't be more different. Not so many similarities between Edward Cullen and Tyler. MTV: So you play Ally, a college student who falls for Pattinson's Tyler. Tell me a bit about the relationship between these two characters. De Ravin: The relationship between Ally and Tyler is so beautifully developed. It's such an honest, organic, real love story. It's not your typical Hollywood love story. Neither one of them were really looking for it, but it just happened. Obviously there's a physical attraction, but also that thing you can't put into words. They're brought together in very random circumstances. It's not love at first sight, but they're intrigued at first sight. They've both had major family tragedies that, prior to their relationship, have closed them off, thinking no one can understand the way they really feel. They just get each other. There's no false performance. It's all open and who they are. That's sometimes beautiful and sometimes ugly and sometimes frustrating, but it's all on the table. MTV: About "Lost," you weren't in the fifth season at all. Was it hard to slip back into the character of Claire, or was it just like riding a bike? De Ravin: I'd been playing her for four years, so it was kind of like riding a bike. I quite like that analogy. But when I'm coming back to the Island, I'm coming back in a pretty unexpected way and there's a whole other Claire for me to explore and play with, which has been so much fun, but also getting to play with who I was, with flashback stuff. MTV: What do you mean about a "whole other Claire"? De Ravin: Without being murdered in my sleep due to exposing secrets of the series, it's a different Claire, a different side of her, one I never thought I'd be playing. That's all I can say. MTV: Did you watch the fifth season while you were away? De Ravin: I made a conscious decision not to watch season five because Claire wasn't there, so I thought it was interesting to not be too in touch with what was going on with the other characters. That gave another side to the mystery for me, but there's already enough bloody mystery going on, isn't there? Even more! MTV: Is there one mystery as a fan that you'd like to have answered at the end? De Ravin: There was a lot of talk about how Claire's baby, Aaron, was a big key to why we're all there and what's going to happen and that he could be the element of letting us know that. As of now, I don't know, but there's something interesting going on there. I want to know! MTV: Looking beyond 2010, do you have any personal or professional goals? Any director you'd like to work with or a genre that intrigues you? De Ravin: I'd like to play with a period piece. Playing a girl next door in 2010 is so different from playing one in 1950, the way you talk, walk, dress, relationships. It's really fun studying all that. It's so cool.